Kabul, Oct 7 (IANS) Afghan counter-narcotics units seized a total of 61 kg of illegal drugs in the eastern Logar and northern Badakhshan provinces, arresting five alleged smugglers, the authorities announced on Tuesday.
In Badakhshan’s Darayem district, three suspects were apprehended as officers recovered 34 kg of opium poppy from their possession. In Logar’s Charkh district, two other individuals were detained after police found 27 kg of hashish in their custody, according to the authorities, Xinhua News Agency reported.
This follows a separate operation reported last Thursday in western Herat province, where police uncovered 20 kg of opium poppy and detained two people implicated in drug trafficking.
Afghan officials have reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to eradicating the narcotics trade and preventing the production and smuggling of illegal drugs across the war-ravaged country.
Earlier on October 2, provincial police spokesman Ghulam Nabi Babizada said police have discovered illegal drugs of opium poppy in the western Afghanistan Herat province and took into custody two persons on charges of involvement in the drug business.
The alleged drug smugglers were busy selling 20 kg of opium poppy when police arrested them red-handed, the official said.
Both the arrested persons have been taken into police custody for investigation, the official further said.
Police won’t allow anyone to produce or smuggle illegal drugs elsewhere in the province, the official asserted.
On September 24, a provincial police office said police had discovered and destroyed two drug processing labs in southern Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province.
Acting on a tip-off, the counter-narcotics police raided specific places in Charchino and Chori districts and destroyed two drug processing labs, the statement said.
Police also discovered and set on fire more than 3 tonnes of different kinds of illegal objects used in manufacturing heroin, the statement said.
Police also took into custody three individuals on charges of involvement in the drug business and, after preliminary investigations, handed them over to the judiciary, the statement added.
–IANS
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